Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO Stock: StoneX Group Inc. Increases Stake

StoneX Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,857 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,341 shares during the quarter. StoneX Group Inc.’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $9,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Cisco Systems during the second quarter valued at about $42,129,647,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 7.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 207,106,569 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,278,492,000 after acquiring an additional 13,512,872 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter valued at about $5,892,379,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cisco Systems by 2.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 43,450,141 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $5,103,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143,106 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems in the second quarter worth about $4,714,574,000. Institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cisco Systems

In other news, EVP Deborah L. Stahlkopf sold 6,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total transaction of $723,495.11. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 167,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,638,447.48. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 5,832 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $650,093.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 128,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,310,741.54. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 44,869 shares of company stock worth $5,005,620 over the last three months. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cisco Systems Stock Down 2.0%

CSCO opened at $93.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.63. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.54 and a 52 week high of $130.37. The company has a market capitalization of $370.01 billion, a PE ratio of 28.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The network equipment provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 20.95%. The firm had revenue of $17.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Cisco Systems has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.050-5.110 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.320-1.340 EPS. Analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.30%.

Cisco Systems News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Cisco Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cisco was named a leader in ABI Research’s open line systems ranking for data-center interconnects, a market benefiting from AI-driven data-center expansion. Article: Ciena, Nokia, and Cisco Named Leaders in ABI Research’s Open Line Systems Ranking
• Positive Sentiment: New partner and cloud offerings—including AI-focused tools and expanded partner incentives—could support recurring software and services revenue. Separately, Spectrum Business introduced a managed Cisco secure-networking service aimed at AI-oriented enterprise workloads. Article: How Investors Are Reacting To Cisco Stock After Analyst Downgrade Article: Cisco Expands Into Managed Secure Networking
• Neutral Sentiment: Cisco’s Q3 earnings are scheduled for November 12. Options traders are pricing in a potentially substantial move around the report, making results and guidance a near-term catalyst. Article: Cisco Set for Near 11% Move After Q3 Earnings, Say Options Traders
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut Cisco from Overweight to Equal Weight and lowered its price target from $135 to $120. The firm warned that faster AI-infrastructure growth could worsen the sales mix and pressure gross margins, weighing on earnings growth in fiscal 2028. Article: Morgan Stanley Downgrades Cisco On AI Impacting Gross Margins
• Negative Sentiment: The downgrade coincided with broad selling in AI-infrastructure and networking stocks. Cisco’s shares also fell below their 200-day moving average, a technical signal that may add to investor caution. Article: Cisco Falls on Morgan Stanley Downgrade and AI Infrastructure Selloff Article: Cisco Stock Price Breaks Below 200-Day Moving Average

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CSCO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Cisco Systems in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cisco Systems in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Cisco Systems from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Cisco Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.87.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc develops networking, cybersecurity, collaboration and observability technologies for businesses, governments and other organizations. Its products include routers, switches, wireless systems and data center infrastructure, along with security software and services that help organizations connect and protect their networks.

The company also provides collaboration tools through its Webex platform and observability capabilities through its software offerings, including technology from Splunk, which Cisco acquired in 2024.